Battle of Crystal Hill

Two days after the news of the changeling threat arrival

"Is it too much for a red robe to fit over my armor?" Captain Dash looked over at Sombra. "Yes." She said matter of factly. "Now stop whining and go out and make your little speech, only 12 days left and you only care about your image."

Sombra snorted, looking at her with narrowed black eyes. "Oh cool your jets stallion, I'm only pointing out the obvious." She says with roll of her eyes. "You've scared the population into submission, you don't need to scare them silly anymore."

Sombra muttered under his breath at that. "M'not tryin to scare them." Soaring looked over at him, opening her mouth as if to ask something, but decided against it.

"The people are for the most part all gathered proper." She said, sweeping her hoof toward the balcony. Sombra cantered out the door onto the balcony of the crystal....thing, tower....Whatever. He looked down, seeing the thousands of faces gathered looking up with fright. They did see a flustered guard come into the city after his last speech after all.

Sombra opened his mouth to speak, but paused when it clicked just how frightened all the ponies looked. It was then the Sombra of old began screaming in the back of the corrupted's thought process. "How do you plan to fight a army of new creatures you know nothing of with a frightened and tired people?" It whispered. "Will you do it alone?" It would taunt.

It took a full minute of internal thought before he realized he had not said a word to the gathering. He looked down again. "Hmmm." His horn took the liquid black aura, it also surrounded the city criers stage, pulling it in the air to sit under the balcony on the ground.

Sombra then teleported down to stand on the platform, again feeling a twinge, thought painful this time, in the back of his head. What was that? It felt like a squirming snake that becomes active when his magic toll was any stronger then levitation...It became stronger ever time he set it off.

Sombra looked up from his thoughts to the now confused audience. "Err, this is a better position to speak when talking to ones people with a level of...respect?" He muttered under his breath when all he got was more confused looks.

He finally just gave up on trying to overthink and fuss over it. "Dear citizens of the Crystal Empire, protectorates of Celestia and Luna respectively. Today I speak to you with a urgent matter. A threat was brought to me two days ago." He opted to leave out that it was the guard.

He grimaced for a moment, shifting on his hooves nervously before lighting his horn to amplify his voice. "A new, possibly sentient, pony species has been seen on the move. Heading right to our city, I have opted that they are too dangerous for diplomacy, fanged and covered in black shell-" "BUGS!?" A random citizen yelled out from the crowd. Sombra quickly made his voice slightly, but just enough to be noticeably higher. "We don't know what they are possibly hybrids of, calm yourselves before you get worked up."

He took a breath. "They are very numerous, and one of my first actions as you emperor is a call to arms." The crowd collectively gasped, a smart alike pony shouting out. "Just let that Pegasus guard out of the crystal statue!" Sombra looked at the crowd, inwardly cringing at the stab. "To put it plainly, I need all the ponies I can get, the guard has agreed to train any who volunteer and I have taken the time to use my powers search for a source of metal for armor and weapons." He then pointed south with his right fore hoof. "Directly 1.3Km's or so south is a deposit big enough for the entire city to be armored, but we need a smith. As it stands we only have one known pony in the city and he is already hard at work with the metal already here. Any who do not plan to fight should work to collect the remaining metals."

A unicorn mare from the crowd wearing a light-blue coat of fur and midnight blue mane walked forward, the cutiemark of melting gold on her flanks. "I can help smith, I have studied metals and the magic behind them. I have the proper magical knowledge to even add minor runes of protection. Although I doubt we can have it on all the sets before....Yeah." Sombra looked her over quickly, a small smirk on his face. "All help is welcome, the Crystal Empire is in need, what name does the mare bear?" She shied away a moment before quickly recovering and standing proud and tall. "I am Gold Shine, descendant of the Shine family, partial founders of the Crystal Empire." Sombra nodded, then went to look at Soaring, opening his mouth to speak. "Bring her to the forages and acquaint her with the armor sets and the such if you would."

After they were off Sombra looked over the crowd a final time. "The Crystal Empire must live on, and damned if we lose this city to a bunch of monsters from the north! Take up your arms! Train! Think of your relatives and friends in Equestria, if we fall the entire nation is lost!"

The crowd seemed to lift their ears, looking at him puzzlingly, he wanted them to fight for him? Didn't he take us over by force? Maybe he knew about the monsters!? Well if he is going to help us then why not?

The hoard of ponies began to beat their hooves into the ground in applaud, some of the huskier stallions looked to be heading home to collect things for their training. Colts and Fillies were unfazed by the threat, Mares moving to take their young home, or moving to their stallions. As if asking what they should do to help, mine? Fight?

With that Sombra turned 180 degree's and walked back into the Crystal tower....Thing. Fight me, I dunno what it is.

When he had made his way inside and was going down the hall toward his quarters Soaring came up behind from the basement, where the tunnel to the forage could be found. Most of the major buildings were tunneled....Except the barracks, Sombra couldn't imagine why. He would need to have that dug...

"Nice speech there bigshot." She said with a wink. "Wouldn't mind having such a word artist like you to have around." His face of horrified. With that she dropped the sarcastic ruse, laughing heavily. "Oh *giggle* man the look on your face was worth it!"

He stood there red-faced, looking ready to sock her in the jaw. "Don't...Tease me. Yo- Aguh!" As he groaning in frustration due to her laughter he used a simple teleportation spell to get to his chambers, from outside the door he could hear her stop laughing and whine "Awww."

No one died this time from my writing, thank heavens!